This application claims the priority of German patent document 10 2004 015 136.9, filed Mar. 27, 2004, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention is directed to an operating device for a motor vehicle door lock.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,165 discloses an operating device of the above-mentioned type for a motor vehicle door lock on a vehicle tailgate. The operating device includes a grip plate which can be connected with the skin of the door. On the rear side of the grip plate, at least one bearing block is provided in which at least one bearing arm of a grip is swivellably linked via a plug-type shaft. The bearing arm penetrates the grip plate. Furthermore, the operating device has a securing element for the plug-type shaft which is formed by a deformed plug-type shaft head on the plug-type shaft itself.
German Patent Document DE 37 32 674 A1 discloses an operating device for a door lock in which a grip is disposed on the rear side of a grip plate. For this purpose, a plug-type shaft is provided which has a notch on its lateral surface. An elastically constructed claw that originates from the grip plate engages with the notch.
In addition, German Patent Document DE 198 09 449 A1 also relates to an operating device for a door lock, which has a grip plate with a slide-in shaft arranged on its rear side. A grip reaches through the grip plate and is disposed swivellably about a plug-type shaft in a bearing block. The bearing block, the grip and the plug-type shaft accommodated in the bearing block are inserted as a prefabricated unit into the slide-in shaft. By means of the wall of the slide-in shaft, the plug-type shaft is protected against a sliding-out.
One object of the invention is to provide an operating device of the initially mentioned type whose mounting is simplified.
Another object of the invention is to provide such an operating device which also affords optimized operational reliability.
These and other objects and advantages are achieved by the operating device according to the invention, in which the protective covering is mounted on the rear side, so that the plug-type shaft is secured against sliding-out. As a result, specially machined plug-type shafts with a widened head or the like are not necessary. In addition to securing the plug-type shaft, the protective covering has a safety function, because objects detaching inside the vehicle door (for example, in the event of a collision) are kept away from the rear side of the grip plate, and operational reliability of the operating device is optimized. For example, in the event of a collision, a glass pane arranged in the vehicle door may break, but the protective covering prevents pieces of glass from blocking the (particularly mechanical) door lock actuator. The operating device is preferably used as an exterior door grip operating device.
In one embodiment of the invention, the plug-type shaft is secured in two directions against sliding out of the bearing block. Moreover, in a preferred embodiment, the securing element has a roof-shaped construction which prevents penetration of foreign bodies in the area of the plug-type shaft.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, the grip-through opening for the door lock actuator is formed in the approximately vertically extending shell bottom, reducing the danger of a penetration of a foreign body.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.